Circular-knitting machine



Aux 7, 1923.

T. WIDDOWSON CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed July 8, 1922 atente Aug. 7,l9.

TOM WIJDDOWSON, 01F NOTTING, ENGLAND.

CIRCULAR-KNJII'TING MACHINE.

Application filed July 3, 1922. Serial No. 572,629.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, TOM WIDDOWSON, a spbject of the King of GreatBritain, and a resident of the city and county of the city of 5Nottingham, in England, have invented certain'new and usefulImprovements in or Belating to CirculanKnitting Machines, of which thefollowing is a specification.

llhis invention relates to improvements inm circular knitting machineswhich are fitted with vertical striping or patterning attachmentsconsisting of a series of dependent thread controlling guides adapted tosupply extra threads to certain of the needles, and

in which provision is made for putting certain of the striping orornamenting threadguides out of action periodically in order to increasethe range of efi'ects which can be produced, said provision consistingin existing machines of exterior pro ections on the lower ends of thesaid thread guides, and a rising and falling ring or plate which ismoved into the path ofsaid projections in order to hold thecorresponding gu1des in their inner positions. Its object is to obviatethe stress which is put upon the guides and the consequent damagethereto, which this system of working entails; D

' According to this invention, provlslon 1s made for delaying the returnmovement of difierent series of the guides until it is too late for themechanism which moves them angularly to act. As a result of this actionthe said guides return on the same side of their needles as they wereprojected, and their threads are consequently not carried round anddelivered to the needles.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

lFi 1. is a vertical section showing a striping or patterning attachmentof the ype described, to which my improvements are applied. r

Fig. 2. is an elevation showlng the pattern cam operating mechanism.

Figs. 3 to 5 inclusive are plans of the respective operating cams.

Fig. 6. is an example of the class of ornamental designs which can beproduced.

Like letters indicate like parts throughout the. drawings. The dependentthread-guides A are carmod and operated in the usual manner, that 18,they are disposed on a head K occupying the same position as a ribbingattachment, their lower ends are moved radially outwards by means of amain central cam B, and are further moved'angularly by means of inclinesC (see Fig. 5) on radially projected instruments t); so astocarry theirthreads round their respective needles, and are returned to their normalpositions again w1th1n the line of the needles, by their own elasticity.

in the present arrangement, the dial D which carries the radiallyprojected instru- W merits C is situated at the bottom of the head la,and the cam E for operating said instruments is disposed above it.

ln order to operate this cam E under these circumstances, the dial D issecured to the lower end of a fixed vertical shaft B which is carriedfrom above, whilst the cam E is dlsposed on the lower end of a sleeve Grwhich is mounted on said shaft "F.

The upper end of this sleeve G carries a m wheel G which is geared tothe driving mechanism, so that it is rotated at the same speed as theknitting-cam ring. The main central cam B which moves the lower ends ofthe thread-guides A radially outward, is also mounted on this sleeve G.

The whole of the thread-guides A are successively operated by thearrangement described, every revolution of the machine in the usualmanner, and in order to control g5 them as previously described, thefollowing additional arrangement is provided.

Each of the dependent thread-guides A is providednear its lower end withan inner projection A, these projections are disposed at differentlevels on the difi'erent guides comprising each group of the latter, anda cam H which is hereinafter referred to as the pattern cam, is disposedjust above cam E which operates the radial instruniente.-

This pattern cam H is provided with a rise hid H (see Fig. 4.) whichmoves round with the knitting-cam, it is rotatably connected to theradial instrument cam E, and in addition it has a rising and fallingmovement which is obtained from say pattern chain orcam mechanism ofwell known construction and arrangement.

As shown in the drawings, the pattern cam H is mounted on a sleeve Jwhich is mounted loosely on the fixed head K, and this sleeve J isconnected to the cam E by a key J (see Fig. 1.).

The cam H can slide on this sleeve J, but is rotatably connected theretoby means of splines or studs H in the interior of the cam H (see Fig.4.) engaging in keyways out in the exterior of the sleeve J.

The pattern cam H is raised and lowered by means of a fork L, whichengages in an annular groove or recess in the cam boss, and this fork Lis connected to a rising and falling annular framing M which surroundsthe attachment. The framing M is carried by two vertical plungers N (seeFig. 1;) working in fixed guides N, and the upper ends of these plungersare attached to a cross-head O, which is connected to the pattern chainmechanism for controlling the cam H.

The action of the pat-tern cam H is as follows: When in its upperposition, it is above the level of the inner projections A on thethread-guides A, and is out of action. When lowered to a certain extent,its lower portion is disposed on the same level as the inner projectionsA on certain of the threadg'uides A, and the rise H on the cam thenengages the said projections. The corresponding thread-guides A are thenheld by the said cam H in their outer positions to which they have beenmoved by the main cam B, for a longer period, and their return movementis thus delayed until such time as the instruments C have returned totheir initial or inner position again. As a result of this action, thelower ends of the delayed guides A instead of being deflected roundtheir respective needles P by the inclines C on the said instruments Cas is normally thev case, return on the same side again as that on whichthey were projected, their threads are not this case carried round anddelivered to the needles, and the particular thread guides are thereforefor the time be ing inoperative.

The pattern cam H may be of such a width that by lowering it step bystep, the whole or the greater part of the thread-guides are put out ofaction in succession, and by raising it in the same manner, thethread-guides are gradually brought into action again.

In some cases however the pattern cam rise H may be narrow, and certainthreadguides A or. groups are then put out of action in succession bylowering the cam step by step and the reverse effect is obtained byraising it again.

may be produced, a group of the threadguides may beemployed at any pointin the circumference of the machine, and would in ordinarycircumstances, produce a parallel stripe either continuous orintermittent. With the arrangement described, the width of the stripecan be increased and diminished as required by putting into and out ofaction certain of the thread-guides A, as

' well as if desired the whole of them out of action at intervals, andfancy outlined figures (such for example as that shown in Fig. 6) eitherseparated entirely from each other, or connected by narrow verticalstripes extending over one or more wales can be produced. Alternativelyparallel stripes can be produced with fancy out-lined figures therein,of the same colour as the body of the fabric.

It is therefore particularly applicable for producing fancy outlinedchevrons on the ankle of hose and half-hose, a result which has hithertoonly been'attained by subsequently embroidering the hose.

The usual provision may be made for putting the thread-guides A, or acertain proportion of them permanently out of action, that is, means maybe provided for raising them so that the main cam B cannot act upon themas in the existing arrangement.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters atent is 1.In a striping or patterning attachment for circular knitting machines,the combination of a series of thread guides with inner projections, 21.main operating cam for moving them outwards, radially projectedinstruments for moving the guides angularly, and a centrally disposedsupplementary or pattern cam which can be brought into action and isadapted to act on the inner projections on and delay the return movementof the guides until it is too late for the radial instruments to movethem angularly, substantially as described.

2. In a striping or patterning attachment for circular knittingmachines, the combination of a series of thread guides provided withinner projections disposed at different levels, a main operating cam foreeepee moving the guides radially outwards, radially projectedinstruments for moving the guides angularly, a centrally disposedsnpplementary or pattern cam which is adapted to act on the innerprojections on and delay the return movementv of the guides, said cambeing adapted to be raised and lowered and act upon the projections ondiflerent series of guides in each of its respective positions,substantially as del\ TQM WIDDOWSON. Witnesses:

F. C. SHELDON, L. A. SHELDON.

